During a recent interview on The Rich Eisen Show, former NFL player Jason Kelce opened up about his experience with WWE at WrestleMania 40 earlier this year. Kelce shared insights into his time with the company and discussed what it was like to be part of such a major event. Below are some highlights from the conversation, courtesy of Fightful:
Jason Kelce on his experience with pro-wrestling:
“Growing up, we didn’t do the pay-per-view, events. I would watch WCW and WWF. WrestleMania was a thing, but we never really watched it, I didn’t really know what to expect. It got announced that it was coming to Philly and they wanted Lane and I to be a part of it. I started getting acclimated to what the event is and how big of a deal it is to the wrestling community. Lane and I went to a couple of wrestling gyms in South Jersey and we were doing moves and bumps. I learned how to bump, how to clothesline, how to get slapped in the chest and act like it doesn’t hurt. It actually does hurt. It was awesome and the people at WrestleMania, watching the level of professionalism that takes place. When you’re there next to the stage, that mat is not soft. It is a full on board. When you see those guys jumping off the top rope, Rey Mysterio style, doing flips, tremendous respect for those athletes.”
Jason Kelce on WrestleMania 40 and critics who call wrestling fake:
“It was a blast. It was a ton of fun. Everybody made it a lot of fun. A lot of people say wrestling is fake. So is the TV show you’re watching. You can still have a level of respect for the amazing physical specimens doing outrageous things in front of you at speed. It might be choreographed a bit, but it’s still very impressive.”
I’m glad to see Jason Kelce stand up for the wrestling community.